Lovesick
by StartersoverLegends
Summary: It's just another day of traveling Hoenn for Ash, May, Brock, and Pikachu when May becomes critically ill. While Brock goes off to get help Ash is left to take care of the coordinator. But while May is in his care, will Ash realize that his feelings for her go beyond just friendship? One-shot, Advanceshipping


**Here's something a little different. I've never done a one-shot before, so if the setup seems a little rushed then that's why.**

**To clarify: In this fic Ash and May are both 16 and Brock is 18**

**I hope you guys enjoy, and please leave a review if you feel up to it.**

**Thanks,**

**-Startersoverlegends**

* * *

It was a beautiful spring day in the Hoenn region as Ash Ketchum and his friends May, Brock, and Pikachu journeyed to the next town after yet another successful Gym battle. Ash smiled as he looked at the metal badge that rested in his palm, proof of his 6th Gym victory in the region. After the group had rested their pokemon and stocked up on supplies at the town Pokemon Center, they had set off toward their next destination- this time a contest for May.

"Wow, Ash! I can't believe that you got your 6th badge, and on your first try too!" May congratulated him as she walked at his side.

"Thanks May, but I couldn't have done it without the hard work of my pokemon, right Pikachu?" He replied as he smiled at the electric mouse that rested on his shoulder.

"Pika, Pikachu!" It answered happily.

The teens were now walking through a forest that would take them straight to the next contest-holding city, or so Brock insisted. As they walked along, each had their own motivation for moving along quickly. May was obviously excited about her upcoming contest. Ash, fueled by his recent win, was just happy to get closer to his next step toward the Hoenn League. As for Brock, well he was already looking forward to meeting the Nurse Joy of the next town.

"So how much further is it, Brock?" May asked him after about an hour of walking.

"Well according to the map, we should be there in a few hours." The Pokemon Breeder replied with a smile.

"Give or take a few days if he gets us lost." Ash joked, getting a chuckle out of May.

"I'm just so pumped for this contest!" She continued on with a dreamy smile on her face. "I can already tell that it's gonna be awesome! I've been training really hard with Evee and Blaziken, and even put together a new appeal that's going to blow the judges away."

"I can't wait to see it." Ash said with a smile.

"Hey, how about a preview?" Brock offered as he stopped and set down his bag. "We can stop here for a lunch break and you can show us, if you'd like."

"Sure!" May's eyes shone, both at the mention of food and at the chance to debut her new contest combo.

As the trainers set down their bags, Brock started a fire and quickly cooked up some of his world-famous Brock Stew. They all released their pokemon for lunch, Brock distributing the pokefood accordingly to how much each ate.

"Ahh, that was really good Brock," Ash said as he leaned back and patted his belly contently.

"Yeah, Sure was." May agreed.

"Ah, two more satisfied customers." Brock joked as he put out the fire and began cleaning up the dishes. "So May, why don't you show us that appeal you were talking about?"

"Oh yeah!" She remembered her promise as she stood and walked over to her pokemon. Before the sample started, all three trainers recalled their pokemon- with the exceptions of Pikachu and Blaziken.

"Blaziken, are you ready?" She asked the towering Fire-Type pokemon as it finished its meal.

"Blaze!" It replied in confirmation as it followed her out into the field before Brock and Ash. The two clapped as she walked in front of them as if on a real contest stage.

"Alright Blaziken, spotlight!" She announced as Blaziken jumped clean over her and landed in front of the two boys.

"Now, Use Blaze Kick and store the energy!"

Blaziken lifted his knee into position for the attack, but rather than lunge forward held his pose until its whole leg was glowing red with an intense heat energy.

"Sky Uppercut, Go!"

Using its other leg to push off of the ground, Blaziken launched itself to a stunning height while the other leg still radiated power.

"Now flip and use Fire Blast!"

With a perfect back flip, Blaziken unleashed a star of fire around itself that effectively brightened the whole field. Its leg, still gaining energy, became the center of attention as it now glowed almost purely white in the middle of the deep reds of the Fire Blast.

"And a spin-kick, now!"

Still keeping its Blaze Kick leg in position, Blaziken used the other leg to slice through the surrounding flames in midair as it spun around rapidly. The result were a million streaks of yellow light that gently fell to the ground before leaving a perfect blazing circle directly beneath the pokemon.

"And now-" May gave a spin for dramatic effect before calling her command. "Finnish Blaze Kick!"

Instantly Blaziken arched its now shining white leg at the ground as it swooped down with extraordinary speed. Upon impact with the ground, a shock wave of flames radiated from the kick and shot out in rings toward the outer circle, sending up a perfect pillar of flames that fully concealed the pokemon.

"Finale!" May shouted confidently.

Just as fast as the flame pillar had risen, it vanished with a sudden burst of light. This left Blaziken standing in its signature stance while a spiral of embers floated around it as if in orbit. In unison both May and Blaziken bowed to the audience before Ash and Brock gave them a standing ovation.

"Blaziken must incredible stamina to hold a Blaze Kick for that long." Brock said as he clapped for her.

"You'll make it to the second round, no problem!" Ash said as he smiled at her.

May opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly her face grew pink and she stopped, eyes going out of focus.

"What's wrong?" Brock asked when he saw.

"Guys, I…" She started weakly as she began to shake. "I don't feel so-"

Before she could finish the Coordinator fell onto the ground, unconscious.

"May!" Both Brock and Ash exclaimed together as they rushed over to her. Immediately Ash kneeled by her side and lifted her head into his arms.

"She's out cold!" Brock said seriously as he turned back toward his bag. "I'm going to get some medicine."

"Hurry!" Ash called after him as he looked down into her unconscious face. Her forehead and cheeks had grown feverishly red, and he could feel heat coming from off of her head. Gently he brushed back some hair from her face as Brock rushed back over.

"This should help with the fever." Brock said as he took a spoonful of some liquid from a carton. "But we have to wake her up first so that she can take it."

"May, wake up! Please!" Ash said as he lightly shook her shoulders.

"…Huh?" She asked softly as she barely opened her cerulean eyes.

"Here, dink this." Brock said as he held the spoon to her lips. Without arguing she ingested the medicine before closing her eyes again.

"Ash, I'm going to go put up a tent for her to rest in." Brock said as he stood. "Try to keep her awake."

"O-Okay." Ash agreed. He had no idea what to do to keep the girl awake, so he started to talk to her. Before long it had turned into somewhat of a rambling-on, but that didn't matter because as long as he was still talking her eyes were slightly open. After what seemed like forever, Ash heard Brock's voice.

"Done!"

With the tent up, the two teens helped a half-unconscious May to her feet and walked her to her over to the medium-sized green tent. It was good timing too, as a line of grey clouds covered the sky and began to sprinkle.

"Here," Brock said as he and Ash sat her down on the makeshift bed that he had set out for her. Besides the cot, there were only a lamp for light and a chair in the tent.

"What do we do now?" Ash asked as he looked to May with a concerned expression. Brock thought hard for a moment.

"We don't have the right medicine for this." He thought aloud. "And she's in no condition to travel. Ash, I'm going to go find a city and get some help. In the meantime, I need you to stay here and take care of May."

"But… I don't know what to do."

"It'll be fine." Brock said as he looked up at Ash. "Just give her more medicine when her fever comes back and make sure that she drinks plenty of water. I'll leave my bag here, it will have everything you should need."

"Thanks Brock."

The Rock-type trainer nodded at his friend and turned for the exit to the tent. Through it Ash could see that it was raining hard now.

"I'll be back soon. Just don't leave her side, okay?"

"Of course not." Ash replied as Brock ran out into the downpour.

After the 18 year old was gone from sight, Ash turned back to May who was still somehow keeping herself in a sitting-up position.

"Ash?" She asked. It was barely audible, but Ash was intent on hearing what she had to say. "I just… I just want you to know that…"

"May!" Ash exclaimed as he rushed to her side. Like before she had collapsed in mid-sentence onto her side on the bed. Gently he lifted her limp body into his arms and tucked her into bed correctly.

_What did she want to tell me?_ Ash thought as he looked at her curiously. _Maybe I could relax if she could have just finished what she was going to say… Oh, I can't blame her._ _This looks really bad._

Sure enough, May was breathing lightly through her mouth as her face contorted with pain and discomfort in her sleep. After watching her with compassion for a moment, Ash turned and crossed the room to Brock's bag. Opening the top zipper, he found the carton of medicine and a spoon as well as several bottles of water and even a can of soup. Carefully, he picked up the precious cargo and crossed back over to May where he placed all of the supplies on the built-in shelf above her bed. Again, he reached over and gently tucked her in to the covers. With his work temporarily complete, Ash pulled the spare lounging chair to her bed side and sat.

_I hope she gets better soon. I can't stand to see her like this_, He thought as he kept his eyes fixed on her. _She doesn't deserve to feel this way… She's always so nice and supportively and motherly- and the list goes on. She's also talented and smart and beautiful… _Suddenly Ash realized what he was thinking and shook his head. _Wait… beautiful? Did I just say beautiful? But… that's a word for when you __**really**__ like someone… But she is. With her amazing sapphire eyes and her soft brunette hair. I also love her clothes, like her bandana… _Then he realized that the bandana could be making her more uncomfortably hot and stood up to remove it.

Slowly he reached across and slipped it off of her hair. At doing this, the redness in her face lessened marginally and her face slightly relaxed.

_Wow… I've never noticed how amazing she is before now._ He returned to his thoughts as he placed the bandana on the shelf with the supplies. _But should I be feeling this way? I mean, we've been traveling together for a long time now and it's never come up. Besides, we're friends and she might not want me around anymore if I start acting romantic around her… _

That same confused look came across his face as he looked at her again. As much as he loved the bandana, she looked amazing even without it. To Ash's surprise, even when she was beyond sick she was stunning. And they had so much in common…

_Wow, she has really grown from when we first met… _Ash's eyes drifted down to the curves of her body beneath the covers before he realized what had just happened. _No, not like that! Well… like that too I guess. _A slight blush came to his face as he returned his gaze to her angelic face. _But she's become such a good trainer and coordinator. She's even taught me some things. _

A smile came across his face as he remembered when they first met… About how unexperienced and lost she was, and how she only wanted to be a Trainer so that she could travel. Before he knew it, he was running through all of their journeys together- from the little moments that they spent together to their greatest adventures. A warm feeling spread from his heart to the rest of him as he came to a realization.

_Wait… I love May Maple?_

It was a first for the trainer. He had never felt this way before, but just knew that it had to be love. It was a feeling of great longing and happiness the same. Like he would do anything for her, no matter what the cost for him. In her sleep Ash could see May stir, snapping him out of his thoughts. An uncomfortable and restless look had come over her face as she moved. Then she opened her mouth.

"Ash…"

His eyes grew wide as he realized that she was dreaming about him. Here she was, sick and hurt and yet she was with him in her subconscious. Suddenly he stood up and reached out. He didn't know what he was doing, just that it was what he had to do. Once again he gently moved the hair from her forehead and caressed her face.

Her restlessness quickly stopped and a look of ease came over her face at his touch. But why? Then Ash realized what he was doing. Without having planned it or anything, he had placed his lips against her warm forehead as he kissed her. Abruptly he pulled away, completely unsure as to why he did that.

_What are you doing!?_ He thought as he backed off. _Why did you kiss her?_

For a moment his head was buzzing with this. It was almost like it was an accident... Luckily nobody was there to see it. The only one in the tent besides the two teens was a sleeping Pikachu. Slowly he looked back to her face. From her forehead he let his eyes fall to her lips. They were so inviting- and yet he never recognized how much he wanted to kiss them until today. Even though he knew that nobody was in the tent, he looked around anyway before proceeding to her. Gently he held her face as he had the first time and brought his face in close. As soon as his lips met hers, Ash's eyes closed while a feeling of fulfillment and happiness rose in his chest. It was better than anything he had ever felt- but little did he know that the kiss did more than just make him feel better.

Slowly, May's eyes opened as she awoke. What she saw both shocked and amazed her. Ash Ketchum was kissing her. And it was amazing. Slowly she raised her hands to his head as she returned the kiss. But what he did next wasn't exactly what she had in mind. As soon as she returned the motion, Ash's eyes shot open in surprise as he jumped back.

"Wha- May!?" He said as a heavy blush engulfed his face. "I'm so sorry… I know it was wrong- I'll never do it again just please don't hate me!"

May merely giggled. "Ash?"

"What?"

As a response she simply pulled him close and pressed her lips back against his. At first it was obvious that he was caught off-guard, but recovered quickly and returned the embrace. It wasn't a heavy kiss, or like the ones that you see in the movies. But it was perfect in both of the trainer's eyes. Finally they released each other and opened their eyes. She smiled at him with her big ocean-blue eyes.

"I don't hate you. I'm just happy."

He smiled back, almost unable to contain his happiness at her returned affection.

"May… Uh… there's something I want to ask you."

"Anything." She said, excitement building as she already knew what he was going to say.

"May Maple, will you be my girlfriend?"

She giggled. "I thought you'd never ask."

With a warm smile she slipped her hand into his as they sat in the perfect silence, just enjoying their moment spent in the other's eyes.

"Oh, by the way what did you want to tell me earlier?" Ash asked as he broke the silence.

"What? Oh yeah!" She said as she recalled the memory with a slight blush. "I didn't know what was going to happen, so I wanted to tell you that I… Um…"

She didn't even have to say it, he already knew from the kiss.

"I love you too." He whispered in her ear as he held her close.

"I'M BACK!" Brock shouted as he ran into the tent's opening while holding a large bag, effectively killing the moment. Quickly the young couple released each other at his abrupt entrance.

"Wait… May? Are you feeling okay?" He asked as he saw that she looked normal again.

"Yeah!" She replied happily. "In fact, I've never felt better."

"Did Ash take good care of you?" He asked skeptically.

"Actually he did." She smiled at the dark-haired boy sitting next to her, who slightly blushed.

"Well then… uh… Good job, Ash. I guess we can get moving again?"

"Sure!" Both teens answered as they stood and crossed out of the tent. The grey clouds had been replaced once again by a picture-perfect light blue atmosphere as Spring's unpredictable weather lived up to its title.


End file.
